Structural Changes in Aging Human Skin

In both exposed and protected areas of progressively older people the underside of the epidermis becomes increasingly flattened out. This flattening is accompanied by a comparable rarefaction of the superficial blood vessels. In this article we review the architecture of the elastic fiber framework in the papillary dermis of skin protected from the sun; aging changes that occur are similar to, but less severe than, those in sun-exposed areas. Most cutaneous sensory end organs are little affected by aging; those in the external genitalia, however, and particularly those underneath the vaginal epithelium become smaller and some disappear

Aging Model for Unexposed Human Dermis

Young human dermis is charterized by the presence of many fibroblasts with distended endoplasmic reticulum, extensive Golgi bodies, and orderly and “clean”-appearing groundwork. Older dermis contains inactive fibrocytes with lipofuscin-like granules, macrophages with dense granules, and extracellular spaces with evidence of degeneration. We have found the sex skin of cycling pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina) a predictable model for studies on aging changes in human dermis. Swollen sex skin has many biochemical and ultrastructural properties that are similar to those of young dermis, and deflated sex skin resembles older human skin. Sex skin, however, is unique in that it becomes “rejuvenated” with each succeeding ovarian cycle. This animal model may prove useful to researchers attempting to increase their understanding of aging in connective tissue

The Battle to Establish an Adversarial Trial System in Italy

This Article is intended to bring the U.S. legal community up to date on the attempt in Italy to put in place a more accusatorial trial system. The Article is divided into three sections. Section I describes the central provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure that was adopted in 1988. It shows that a close look at the Italian system reveals that it was never intended to be an exact model of either the U.S. or English trial systems, because it always contained central features that are found in civil law systems on the continent. Rather, the changes in the 1988 Code of Criminal Procedure were only intended to adopt an adversarial system to the extent that power over the control of the criminal trial was to be shifted away from the trial judges and placed squarely on the shoulders of the public prosecutors and the defense lawyers, who would have the primary responsibility for presenting evidence and for examining (and cross-examining) witnesses. Section I also discusses one of the main changes in the Italian system under the Code-the introduction of a form of plea bargaining whereby the public prosecutor and the defense attorney were permitted to seek a reduced sentence for a defendant in exchange for the avoidance of trial

The Battle to Establish an Adversarial Trial System in Italy

This Article is intended to bring the U.S. legal community up to date on the attempt in Italy to put in place a more accusatorial trial system. The Article is divided into three sections. Section I describes the central provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure that was adopted in 1988. It shows that a close look at the Italian system reveals that it was never intended to be an exact model of either the U.S. or English trial systems, because it always contained central features that are found in civil law systems on the continent. Rather, the changes in the 1988 Code of Criminal Procedure were only intended to adopt an adversarial system to the extent that power over the control of the criminal trial was to be shifted away from the trial judges and placed squarely on the shoulders of the public prosecutors and the defense lawyers, who would have the primary responsibility for presenting evidence and for examining (and cross-examining) witnesses. Section I also discusses one of the main changes in the Italian system under the Code-the introduction of a form of plea bargaining whereby the public prosecutor and the defense attorney were permitted to seek a reduced sentence for a defendant in exchange for the avoidance of trial